Poolside outdoor kitchen: stone, finishes and shade

A garden kitchen takes rain, sun and frost. A poolside kitchen also takes the water of the pool, and that water is not neutral: it carries chlorine, or salt where the pool runs on electrolysis, and it reaches the worktop in splashes, with every dive and on wet feet. Chlorine and salt leave whitish haloes as they dry and, over the years, corrode fittings and dull treated surfaces. Around a pool, too, people walk barefoot: the stone has to stay rough and cool even at midday. The design starts there: first a stone that neither absorbs nor scorches, then the finish, and finally where the counter sits in relation to the water.

Four materials are best suited to a kitchen beside the pool. Granite, compact and low in absorption, is indifferent to chlorine and salt: it is the safest choice for the worktop where the real cooking happens. Quartzite adds a pale veining close to marble, with a resistance marble does not have. Compact travertine, filled and sealed, is the historic stone of pool surrounds: it does not scorch, its natural grain keeps it from slipping, and it ties the kitchen to the pool edge in the same warm colour. Sintered stone (Dekton, Laminam) completes the list: it does not absorb or scratch and allows thin worktops on light frames, as in our Poolside Kitchen with its dark Laminam top. White marble we keep for side panels, serving surfaces and areas under a roof, honed and resealed every season.

Beside a pool, polishing is out of the question: a wet polished surface is a sheet of ice, and chlorine clouds it in patches within a few summers. For the worktops and side panels we use a brushed finish, soft to the touch with a slight ripple that holds the foot; for steps, decking and edges that are walked on, bush-hammered or sandblasted, rougher still, the same finishes we use on the infinity edges of our pools; for granite, flamed, obtained with heat, which opens the surface and leaves it matt and safe. A honed finish remains fine on the working surface, as long as it stops short of a mirror. The typical worktop thickness is 2 or 3 cm; edges are rounded to a half bullnose or chamfered, because beside a pool no edge should be left sharp.

The advantage of entrusting kitchen and pool to one workshop is continuity. Michelessi makes infinity edges, Roman steps, submerged sun ledges and pool linings in natural stone, and can cut the kitchen counter, its side panels and the platform it stands on from the same block of travertine, Carrara or Grigio Carnico. The drawing becomes one: edge height, joint, direction of the veining and finish repeat from the pool to the cooking area, without the break in material you see when pool and kitchen come from two suppliers. Where the pool already exists, we sample the stone of its surround and choose a slab that meets it in colour and grain, or we go for the contrast you want: a black granite counter on a pale edge.

A poolside kitchen is used in the hours when the sun beats down: cover is not a luxury. A timber or aluminium pergola, a roof or a shade sail keeps the stone cool, shelters barbecue and fridge from rain and, beneath it, marble becomes possible again. Position matters as much as shade: the cooking area is kept away from the pool edge, out of the splashes and the path of anyone climbing out of the water, with the counter acting as a screen between pool and grill; the bar counter with its stools, on the other hand, can face the pool. The paving around the kitchen is laid with a slight fall, so water does not gather at the foot of the cabinets.

The built-in elements suffer the pool air more than the stone does. The sink and taps are in AISI 316 stainless steel, the marine grade that does not rust with salt and chlorine; hinges, drawer runners and handles follow the same rule. The fridge and wine cooler are outdoor models, with glass doors and insulation made for heat, set into the stone with the ventilation they need. The gas or charcoal barbecue, BeefEater or Bull, is built into the worktop above the refractory-stone structure; the wood-fired oven, where there is one, goes in the corner furthest from the water. Water, drainage, gas and power reach the underside of the counter before installation, with the electrical boards protected from spray.

A poolside kitchen asks for little attention, but regular attention. After use, rinse the worktop with fresh water so chlorine and salt do not dry on the stone, then wipe with a cloth and a neutral detergent; descalers and acid products stay in the pool shed, because travertine and marble are limestone. The water-repellent sealer is renewed at the start of summer; granite and sintered stone hardly need it. In autumn the barbecue is covered and the sink pipes are drained against frost. With these habits the counter stays as it was on the first day, and if the finish ever needs refreshing it is done in place, as on a marble floor.

Michelessi has worked marble in Aprilia, on the Via Pontina between Rome and Latina, since 1976, and builds outdoor kitchens and stone pools in the same workshop. Site survey and quote are free in Rome, Latina and throughout Lazio: we measure the pool edge and check the connections. The 3D design shows you kitchen and pool edge together, before the first cut. Slabs are chosen one by one in person; cutting is CNC and finishing is by hand; installation is by our own team, who connect the elements and leave the kitchen ready for the first evening. Across the rest of Italy we guide you through a remote survey; abroad we prepare and number every slab and follow shipping and fitting, as we did for our project in Dubai.

This page looks at one particular case from our outdoor kitchens in marble and stone, where you will find models, layouts and the refractory-stone structure. For the pool, steps and infinity edges, see our stone-clad swimming pools; for the stones, the pages on travertine, Dekton and Laminam; for the comparison of outdoor materials, the guide on which stone to choose, and for cleaning, the marble worktop care guide. If the counter is to be granite, read the page on the granite outdoor kitchen as well; if the pool is on a roof, the one on the rooftop terrace outdoor kitchen. For a quote, write to us with a photograph of your pool.